Chapter Text
Under Kephale's watchful gaze, we protect the wheat as it forms heads and flowers.
“Are you ready, son?” Eurypon, his father— the king, looks down at him stoically from atop his throne. To his right side sat Mydei’s mother— the queen, she was watching the scene unfold, her eyes were sharp yet fond, her sight never leaving her son.
He has seen this same scene repeat multitude of times by now, as the prince, getting to see his parents directly like this was just the initial part of his mission “Yes, father” Mydei replies as he briefly closed his eyes. He had gathered his men outside, the rations were counted, the Dromas were stationed, their weapon were sharped.
It wasn’t his first time going out to conquer lands in the name of their kingdom and it wouldn’t be the last.
His mother let out an all-knowing smirk, she knows her son won’t disappoint her, he never does “I wish you eternal victory Mydeimos. Now go, make us proud”
Mydei nodded as he bid farewell to his parents. The moments before the departure for a new conquest were always too stiff, it was a tradition of bidding farewell to your progeny as they went to war and whatnot.
He can’t say he’s fond of it, it makes his parents sound like they are some old people following dead traditions, which— granted, his father still does follow them quite a lot, but it really almost makes them look as if they were different people.
Mydei’s parents have done nothing but spoil him rotten his entire life. They love him unconditionally and there wasn’t a single thing he wouldn’t be given when he asked. There was always someone there to grant all his wishes, be his servants or his own parents. Mydei hadn’t lacked anything in life, from the most exquisite food, to the finest of garments, he had it all.
Being the Prince of a nation shaped by war wasn’t all luxuries, however, he still had duties beyond his palace he had to attend.
As he walked down the corridors of his home, filled with servants that wished for his victory as he went, he thought about his next move. Castrum Kremnos had remained close to Janusopolis for the past month, barely moving from its spot.
Their target was Loukas, a city-state located in the northern region. They would have to walk a fair distance to reach it, since Castrum Kremnos was located closer to the southeast at the time.
This was just another part of this trial granted by his parents, knowing how to survive with your army in the wilderness was just another part of conquering.
Upong reaching the entrance, his men were waiting for him there, ready to set out at the mere word.
Krateros, his teacher, remained in the front, only approaching Mydei once after he finishes going down the stairs of the main entrance “We were waiting for you Mydeimos. Your army is ready; we leave the moment you say the word”
Mydei couldn’t help but smirk, before him stand hundreds of people ready to listen to his very order, five of them who he specially held regard towards.
He had truly never lacked anything in life, he had riches, servants at his beck and call, an adoring family that did nothing but fill him with unconditional love and, of course, something he’s rather proud of since he acquired it by himself, power.
As much spoiling his parents do for him, he was also thrown into the battlefield at the tender age of nine where he tasted his first victory. That was the fate of the Kremnoans, endless battles, the scent of rust in the air, the adrenaline of putting your life on the line.
Well, that last part couldn’t quite encapsulate Mydei as he was born with the blessing (or curse?) of immortality, making him the most fearsome adversary their enemies could come across.
Mydei found great enjoyment in these battles and the one ahead of him will be no exception.
He stood before his army and rallied them all together “Follow my step, we leave right now”
After a whole day of traveling, the night had finally come, and the moon hung over them. It was time for his troupes to set camp and rest for the night.
Peucesta’s melody rang through their camp, a soothing moment of peace after traveling through the majority of the day was certainly needed and his friend knew how to set the perfect mood.
Mydei had all his friends by his side— they were surrounding the campfire that kept them warm while they drank his favorite drink, pomegranate juice, alcohol would come only after their victory, even if Mydei wasn’t fond of drinking it.
“How come you still drink your pomegranate juice like that? You are still adding milk to it like when you were a kid, don’t you see you are ruining its perfect color by turning it pink?” His dearest, most closest friend, one who he had a crush on a long time ago —Hephaestion, he was trying to piss him off as always with a big grin on his face.
His creamy silk hair was covering part of his beautiful blue eyes— he was unfairly pretty as always.
Hephaestion loved to tease Mydei about his drink preferences. He found enjoyment in adding milk and seeing how the red juice turns pink, so what? He liked the color and the taste changed to something more preferable to him.
Mydei still remembers when his mother taught him that little “trick” one evening during dinner time when he was very small. Mydei had been fascinated, his interest was fully captured at the time, and it remained one of his core memories of his early childhood.
So, no— he’s never going to stop drinking his pomegranate juice with milk, no matter how much his friend liked to complain “You should know by now that I won’t stop no matter how many times you complain” He drank from his cup to make a point, he will never give this up.
“Are you two really going to have this conversation again?” Ptolemy said exasperatedly as he rolled his eyes and buried his hands on his blond hair, he surprisingly wasn’t glued to a book at the moment.
Perdikkas who was quietly watching them until now joined their conversation as well “You know is impossible to change his highness’s mind on this subject, why even try?” he was playfully moving his goblet around as he looked at his drink, not really paying them any attention.
“Well, you guys should know by now that I’m just teasing him” Hephaestion said as he giggles, now it was Mydei’s turn to roll his eyes.
“You really need to come up with something better...maybe I could help you figure out something” Leonnius said as he added a few more logs into the fire.
“Oh? You have something in mind already? I like the idea of a collaboration, maybe Peucesta could join us in this endeavor as well?” Hephaestion said cheekily winking at Peucesta.
Mydei couldn’t help but laugh, there was no way in a million years Peucesta would join them in something like that.
“…I wouldn’t know about that” Peucesta said quietly while not missing a single beat.
Now that he thinks about it… were they really plotting against him while he can hear them loud and clear?
“Do both of you have no shame? His highness is still here with us, he can hear you perfectly” Ptolemy said as he crossed his arms in disapproval, not approving of their friends’ mischief.
Mydei merely hummed “Let them do as they please. I welcome the challenge”
Since when has this become a challenge? He heard Perdikkas whisper, rather confused.
The joy in Hephaestion’s face was palpable, a wide smirk was plaster on his face, obviously enjoying his provocation “We won’t disappoint then”
Mm, Mydei will not stay behind either, he’ll have to come up with something as well, he’ll rather not go into this battle unprepared.
The atmosphere remained joyful through the night, Hephaestion had decided to share a few stories with them accompanied by the soft music playing in the background.
All of them listened in revelry as their friend talked about a few monsters he had slain. It was nothing they hadn’t heard before, well, minus the exaggerated parts he was clearly adding for shock value.
The time to sleep eventually came, the fire had almost died out and it wasn’t long before everyone fell asleep.
Mydei remained the sole person who still remained awake. Under the veil of night, he gazed at the stars above him.
At times like this in absolute peace, the prince would think how grateful he was for having such wonderful company.
That night he slept soundly knowing he was surrounded by his dear friends.
The weather wasn’t merciful to them.
The morning had started with a bright sky devoid of any clouds, but as they marched on to their destination, gray clouds had suddenly gathered above them.
The storm that followed caught them by surprise. They had expected rain, yes, but they ended up being caught in a terrible downpour accompanied by swift winds and booming thunder.
The thunder was at the far distance but was so loud it felt as if Nikador himself was throwing one of his lances upon their direction.
The wind blew harshly, daring to halt their step, even the Dromas were agitated and didn’t dare to move, halting their progress.
One could barely see at the distance— their surroundings had gone dark despite it being the middle of the day, making it hard to see even close by.
It was as if Aquila themselves decided to curse them with the worst imaginable weather there could possibly be.
But they had to keep moving.
Mydei ordered his troops to stay close to each other and force the Dromas to move.
His voice didn’t reach far however since the heavy sound of rain, thunder and wind muffled most of it, only reaching his closest companions.
Damn it, did any of them say something to piss Aquila off?
Mydei stopped on his track and decided it would be best to gather everyone first before advancing, they were quite literally in the middle of nowhere at the moment, but surely there was at least some cave or the like to take shelter for the time being.
His plan was halted as his eyes caught a glimpse of a black figure moving at incredible speed between his troops.
For a moment he thought he imagined it, but then he caught another one going behind where a Dromas was stationed.
That couldn’t have been the rain, he has seen this before, something he detests.
Thieves from Dolos.
Those insufferable cat like people know nothing but steal and stab you in the back, they are most certainly taking advantage of the storm to commit their heinous crimes.
What were they even doing, assaulting people in the middle of the rain, do they not hate water?
They most likely got caught in the rain as well...what a lucky day they were all having.
Unfortunately for them they have no idea who they were up against, they most likely saw a group of wondering people struggling in the rain and decided to target them since they were at it, what a grave mistake.
Mydei is not about to give them a chance.
He had to be cautious now. Since they weren’t aware that Mydei had caught on their presence, he had to make his warning as natural as possible.
Just act natural first— keep his original plan going. He quickly gathered his people and told them to wait, then he signaled Hephaestion something only he could understand.
That’s how his friend caught up, the stoic expression he was wearing didn’t change for a second, but Mydei was aware that the man had understand the assignment perfectly.
A blink passed and Hephaestion suddenly turned then grabbed the thief that was about to steal from behind and pushed them to the ground.
What followed was pure chaos.
Everyone around caught on quickly about what was happening, his soldiers managed to defeat a few nearby thieves that were trying to hide.
While most of the bandits ran away, some stayed fighting using tricks and using the weather to their advantage, trying to buy times so their fleeing comrades may leave.
How pitiful.
There weren’t many of them, but Mydei didn’t intend to make things slip, these cowards will pay with their blood.
The battlefield remained chaotic, while they were at the advantage due to their number their opponents knew how to take advantage of the situation.
Mydei had one of them on sight, and chased them down as they tried to flee, that would not happen under his watch.
He ended up being separated from his own army, which was less from ideal, but he alone was a one-man army, and he knew his men could handle well on their own.
The thief in front of his was desperate, not bothering on tricks and merely running for their lives, in other words, easy prey.
Mydei managed to corner one of them against a cliff, forcing the bandit to halt their movement.
He could barely see it, but the river below was murky, the heavy rain had caused the river to flood, its raging rapids were filled with debris. Needless to say, anyone who would be unfortune enough to fell on it would not come out unscratched, well, given the altitude between the top of the cliff and the water, it was certain death.
He approached the thief with unhurried steps— his victim was walking backwards until they almost lost their footing once they reached the edge of the cliff, a few little stones fell to the water as they did so.
Mydei couldn’t see the expression on their face due to the hood they had on, but it was surely one of pure terror.
Once close enough, he intended to hold onto the thief before throwing them down to the river, but he lost his balance last minute.
Or more like someone, made him lose balance.
He felt a big hit from behind— someone had shoved him towards the edge, in his surprise he stumbled, swiftly falling towards the raging river.
His eyes widened as he saw everything unfold in slow motion, he turned to the side to see the thief he was targeting, in that slip of a second in that angle, Mydei could see how they were caught by surprise as well.
He was going to fall into the river, no doubt about that, so he tried to bring down the thief with him as well, but that slippery snake avoided him perfectly, and Mydei wasn’t able to take them with him.
He barely managed to turn around in time to grab the edge of the cliff with one hand, his knuckles grew white under his gauntlets from the sheer force he was making, he sinks his claws in the wet earth and grass he was barely holding on to, not good.
As he went to grab the edge with his other hand the thief that had shoved him before quickly pulled out a dagger and stabbed him on the side of his hand where the weak spot of his armor is located.
Mydei winced as he felt the familiar sting, pain will not stop him however, he continued with his moment reaching the edge with his other hand.
The thief panicked, not expecting Mydei to just walk off such injury, they fully expected him to lose his hold after the initial stab.
The thief tried twisting the knife in an attempt to make Mydei drop down but to no avail.
He had barely put his other hand on the edge before he was unexpectedly hit heavily on his head with the back of a polearm.
That momentarily stunned him, making him see black spots in the corner of his vision.
What the hell.
The thief Mydei initially chased down was hitting him multiple times with the same polearm, they were clearly in a panic trying to make him fall because why are you using a lance to hit instead of stabbing?
They were saying something desperately in a language Mydei could not understand, probably begging for Mydei to just fall and die already.
Mydei didn’t give them the pleasure, however. Once he saw an opening, he grabbed the polearm with his unwounded hand and broke it in two, the broken lance fell down into the river, getting forever lost between its currents.
The hood of the polearm thief had fallen down by now. She was indeed a cat person, her green hair had been damped by the rain, her expression was of absolute terror as she fell down backwards on the dirt by sheer shock.
He had managed to get both hands on the cliff’s edge and with one fell swoop he got half of his body back up.
Mydei thought he had it by then, only for the other thief to stop stabbing him in his hand and stab him directly in his throat instead.
He stood still for a moment before he started to felt the undeniable taste of rust on his tongue.
Mydei still didn’t let go, but his vision was starting to blur, and he couldn’t breathe anymore.
Fuck this was bad.
Dying was nothing to him, it had simply become second nature to him on the battlefield, but this was by far the worst situation he had been while it happened.
If he fell down now, who knows where the river will make him end up. Mydei would not have the luxury of waking up a few moments later and coming back onto the battlefield.
Damn it.
He gathered all the strength he could muster and grabbed the thief who stabbed him by the ankle.
He heard a shriek as the thief tried to free themselves. Mydei was losing his vision, yet his iron grip did not falter, forcing the thief to come with him.
Mydei will not die, but they certainly will.
Eventually his body gave up and fell backwards into the river, the thief screamed as they fell down alongside him.
At least he got one of them with him.
Phainon had gathered his fishing gear and was ready for a long session of the dock, the ocean, the fish and him.
He cast the line and quietly waited for a nimble, he let his barefoot feet touch the cold water as he waited for the fish to bait.
Phainon closed his eyes and let out a big breath, the sweet scent of wheat from his homeland greeted his nostrils, the birds in the trees chirped a cheerful tune, the sound of distant waves were calming, nothing could beat such a quiet morning.
It wasn’t long into his fishing session when he felt something barely touching his feet.
He quickly put his feet back into the air, scared of whatever that was down there. In his experience, he never had any problems like this, fish didn’t bother with touching humans like that, so what did he just touch?
Confused, Phainon took a peek underneath to see what exactly he had just touched, probably a piece of driftwood, right…?
Oh, he wishes it was actually driftwood.
The corpse of a dead man was what actually greeted him. His face and limbs were completely submerged, and only the back and part of his neck still remained afloat.
What the fuck.
What the fuck is he supposed to do.
He had half a mind to not scream and instead jumped in the sea and turned the man around so his whole head wasn’t submerged in the water.
Now that the man was floating with his head on the surface, Phainon pushed him back into the shore, he had to drag the man into one of wooden planks nearby that was connected to the docks.
He knew their little dock was a mess, but he hadn’t realize how broken it was until he tried to bring the dead— hopefully unconscious man into land.
Once on land, he put the man on the most even nearby surface there was.
Phainon looked at the man, he wasn’t moving a muscle.
Maybe he was still alive, doubtful, but who knows!
Fuck, he doesn’t know what to do.
“CYRENE!!!” Phainon shouted at the top of his lungs, their parents were working in the fields today so she’s the only one who’s probably nearby at the moment.
His attention went back to the man he ungracefully sprawled in the floor, Phainon got close to his chest, looking for his heartbeat.
Thump, thump, he heard the man’s heart still pumping.
Holy fuck, he’s alive. Somehow.
Phainon then got close to the man’s face— he wasn’t breathing.
Shit, what does he do?!
“Cyrene! I really need help right now!” Phainon tried to call his sister again, while trying to remember how to reanimate someone.
Chest compressions! Chest compressions Phainon! Don’t panic, don’t panic!
He got himself into a rhythm pressing down into the man’s chest.
“One…two…three…” he started counting, how many did he had to do again? Fuck why didn’t he pay more attention in class, he’s an idiot!
He continued “Twenty-two…twenty-three…twenty-four…” was he doing too many?
“What’s wrong Phainon? You were shouting so loud, I thought tha- oh, my god” His sister gasped as she ran towards him, he couldn’t afford to see her expression right now, but he was certain she was as shocked as he was.
“Help Cyrene, what do I do?!” He put his entire mind into not breaking the rhythm of the chest compression, he couldn’t speak much either or else he would surely fuck it all up.
“I- rescue breaths Phainon! Two of them!” Thank the Titans she’s here, he had already forgotten.
He did as he was instructed, mouth to mouth he gave the man air enough to make his chest rise.
His memories from his class about emergency procedures (that they only had once by the way!) rushed back to him.
“Perform thirty chest compression, perform two rescue breaths…” he mumbled under his breath as he went back to making chest compressions.
Now he had figured it out but afterwards. He has no idea.
“I-I’ll go look for Althea, she will know what to do” Cyrene ran to look for their village doctor, thanks Gods, she heard him when he called.
Now he only needs to do this until help arrives.
“Elven…twelve...thirteen…” Phainon kept going a few more rounds until…
Well, the man suddenly opened his eyes and turned around a coughed a concerning amount of water.
He— he, did it?!
The man laid back down, his tired eyes looked to the sky, Phainon got in front of him and started to ask him questions “Hey! Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
The man left out a pained groaned in response and slowly closed his eyes once more.
Oh dear, what does he do now?
The man closed his eyes once again, but this time he was breathing, his chest slowly raised and fell— it was as if he had fallen asleep, but Phainon was most certain the man just passed out.
Phainon took this moment to breathe, that was extremely exhausting and alarming.
He guesses he just has to wait now? It seemed like the man was stabilized at the very least, he’s unsure of what he has to do now.
While waiting for help to arrive he looked down at the stranger with more attention now that the danger was gone and he was…surprisingly beautiful.
His muscled body was, for the lack of a better word: flawless.
The man was definitely a warrior— one could tell for his shape alone— his body was carved with red tattoos that seemed to reach every single part of his skin.
His clothes were absolutely torn, and most strangely despite Phainon’s assurance that he was a warrior due to his ridiculous body, he didn’t have a single piece of armor on himself or a weapon to speak of.
Whatever he had been through must’ve made him lose everything along the way.
Phainon came to a halt once he stopped ogling at the man’s bare chest and took a moment to look at his face.
He was render speechless as he saw such a gorgeous visage. It was, frankly speaking, the most beautiful face Phainon had ever had the delight to gaze upon.
Even unconscious his features remained soft, his lips were lightly parted and rosy, he had fair unblemished skin and his strawberry blond hair, despite being completely wet looked perfectly silky in a way that made Phainon want to stick his finger through them.
Phainon had to look away for a second, his face suddenly grew red.
He just kissed this guy— well, not exactly kissed but you know, they did do mouth to mouth— ok he needs to stop thinking about that.
Phainon snapped himself from thinking about the absolute beauty of a man before him and reminded himself he should check if anything else was wrong.
And oh boy, if there was something wrong.
The man had a terrible wound on his neck— he really was so distracted by his looks that he did not notice that, Titans help him.
Phainon panicked for a second out of shock before realizing the injury had long stopped bleeding and it seemed to be closing already, despite how gruesome it looked.
The man seemed to breath without much effort which was good, but it was definitely something they shouldn’t ignore.
Still, what the hell? How did he survive such a wound, it seemed deeper to what one could consider non-concerning (Well getting stabbed anywhere is concerning! Deep or not!)
Phainon looked to see if he was wounded anywhere else, he found one of his hands seemed to also have been suffering from stab wounds.
A few parts of his body were also covered in deep bruises.
Just what the hell happened to this man?!
“Phainon! I got Althea with me!” Phainon turned around to see Cyrene with Althea. Her long pink hair was a mess, surely from running all the way from here to Althea’s house and then back here again “I got him stabilized but he’s injured!” Phainon shouted as they got closer.
Althea rushed to the man’s side and got working instantly, not missing a beat “You did great Phainon, I’ll take it from here” Phainon and Cyrene stood in silence as they saw Althea work her magic, she even brough the necessary equipment to deal with his wounds, so Phainon could rest easy now.
Well, partially.
Phainon couldn’t shake his uneasiness. They saved this man’s life, yes, he’s also absolutely gorgeous too, but they don’t know anything about him.
He prays he’s not a bad man, if he accidentally welcomed someone who wishes to destroy their village, he doesn’t know what he’ll do.
Die probably.
His sister squished his hand— he looked at her and she had that knowing It’ll be fine face she always did to reassure him.
Phainon breath a little bit easier, it will be okay, Cyrene is always right…
Once Althea was done, she let the man bandaged and confirmed he had indeed ingested a lot of water and needed proper rest but thankfully he wasn’t in any critical condition.
“He can stay on my bed until he’s better” Phainon offered to watch over him, given Aedes Elysiae size, there weren’t many places for foreigner people to rest and would be best if he’s the one taking care of the man, since Phainon was the one who found him.
Phainon also doesn’t want Cyrene to offer her space to a man they don’t know, and both of their parents are getting old and Phainon wouldn’t dare let them offer their place in his stead.
“If that’s the case, I’ll leave you a note with what to do, but first let’s bring him to your house”
That was easier said than done.
The man was pure muscle, and he was as tall as Phainon! Just holding him up was heavy. Phainon is in good shape but not to this level of musculature, this was pure insanity.
With great effort they carried the man to their home, then they lay him down on his bed. The man took about the 85% of his bed so what was Phainon going to do? No idea, probably sleep on the floor for the next few days.
Or weeks, who knows.
“Thank you immensely Althea” He thanked her for everything, he doesn’t know what they would’ve done without her.
She hummed as she wrote down the note with all the care they had to do.
He got the note from her and was told to call her immediately if the man had any trouble breathing or otherwise.
After that she left, Cyrene and Phainon were left alone in front of the man.
“…That was wild” Phainon could hardly believe what just happened, he saved a man’s life right? Holy shit, that’s insane.
“How did this even happen— where did you even find him?” Cyrene asked now that the initial scare was gone “I don’t know! I was fishing and then I look down and see a dead body— well, a drowning man! It scared the shit out of me” Phainon sat down on the chair in the corner of the room where he pilled up all the clothes he needed to wash, Titans he needs a break, that whole ordeal took years out of his life.
“That was scary, yes…Let’s hope it all turns well— I’ll talk with mom and make you a momentary bed for you ” Cyrene said as she looked at the man on the bed, still unsure of what exactly to do.
They stayed silent for a while before Cyrene excused herself and left to look for their mother.
Now that she was gone the silence was palpable, Phainon looked at the raise and fell of the man’s chest and sighed.
Mydei was aware that he was asleep, yet he couldn’t do anything as his mind kept repeating the same scenario over and over again in an endless loop.
He was thrown into the raging currents of a stormy river, he tried his best to swim, to hold onto something but the current was too strong, he was thrown around and his body hit rock after rock.
He could feel how his body tried to heal itself, normally the wounds he sustained would start to close moments after getting wounded and it would take about a day what a normal human could take weeks.
But the constant strain and hits he was taking was just reopening his wounds time and time again, Mydei doesn’t remember being in so much constant pain before.
Not to mention all the water that was getting in his eyes, his mouth— his lungs.
Then, a particular hit in the head against a rock and he was gone, absolutely knocked unconscious.
This scene replayed time after time in his mind, he felt the strain his face as he continued to forcefully keep his eyes shut.
He tossed around in his sleep trying to find comfort, to make it stop, anything.
Then he heard a voice, someone was calling for him, then they were sharking him and—
Mydei suddenly opened his eyes as if he just got awoken from a nightmare.
Well— technically he just did.
He expected Krateros to wake him up, mad at him for being so careless, or maybe Hephaestion making light of the situation even though Mydei knows he’s worried deep down.
Mydei was left confused, however, when he saw that person that had awoken him was someone he didn’t know.
The man in front of him was strikingly beautiful— his blue eyes reminded him of his friend, a stunning blue like a sea he could get lost into and his hair was pale as the moonlight itself shining brightly in the night.
For a moment Mydei forgot how to breathe.
Who the hell is this guy.
He took a moment to look around the room breaking out of his momentary daze.
It seemed, well, extremely humble…to say the least.
Mydei pulled himself up, so he was now sitting on the bed, his back was against the wooden headboard.
His body screamed in pain as he moved, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to “Where am I?” He managed to say, his voice hoarse and tired after he got stabbed and then ingested concerning amount of water.
He’s sure he died at least twice back there, from constant drowning and several blunt trauma.
The man seemed taken aback for a second before answering a bit worried “I— sorry I didn’t quite catch that, can you repeat it?”
The man was speaking common, just great.
It’s not like Mydei doesn’t know common. As royalty he learned from a young age how to read and write in both Kremnoan and Common, yet he never quite learned how to speak it properly, for he does so rarely, diplomacy is not Kremnoans best suit after all.
He cleared his throat and tried again “Where am I?” he grimaced a little after hearing his accent but there wasn’t much he could do about that.
Upon hearing his words, the man brightens up like a light lamp, the reaction pulled him back a bit “Oh! We are at my house, well— more specifically my room. This is Aedes Elysiae— a little farming village. I found you drowning at the port and well— I saved you and here we are!” The man said with a big grin, far too wide for his liking.
Mydei was saved by a farm boy— a peasant.
Mydei owes one of his many lives to a peasant.
He let his body go limp— his back hitting the mattress once more. He opted to stare at the clearly poorly made ceiling instead of the man who had seemingly saved his life.
By Nikador what he got himself into? Where the fuck is even Hades Elisia or whatever is called, he’s never heard of it in his life.
“Are you ok there? You were tossing a lot during your sleep just now and I got worried…” Mydei tried his best to not listen to the peasant that was annoyingly eating his ear off.
He felt like shit, his body hurt so much he feels like his bones will explode any second now.
“Are you listening?” Ignore him Mydei, ignore him… “You didn’t get you ears hurt as well, did you?”
Just close your eyes, breath in breath out…
“Hey-“
“Enough” Mydei spoke again while he sat back up while ignoring the pain, his voice still deep and hoarse. He saw as the peasant squirmed as he grew small under his sudden authority.
“You shall not address me unless I told you so” Mydei scowled at the pretty man before him, he felt extremely silly giving orders while still on bed, but he needs to teach this village idiot about manners.
The man had the audacity to look offended, but otherwise he stayed silent.
Good.
“Bring me fresh water, now” The man scowled at him (how dare he) and promptly moved to the side of his bed and grabbed a glass of water that was on the nightstand beside the bed, accompanied by a full jug of water as well. At the very least he already knew to be prepared, Mydei had to give him that.
“Here you have ¨Your highness¨” The man said with a mocking tone as he handles him the glass.
What? How does he know who Mydei is? Whatever— not important right now, he’s clearly making fun of him.
“Do not mock me” He took the glass of water and jugged it all down in a second “More”
“You have an entire jug full of water right beside you and you are not in critical condition, fill it yourself” The man replayed.
This is why you can’t argue with peasants, they don’t know anything.
Mydei’s eye twitched “Serve, me, water”
The man crossed his arms in defiance “You know— I had planned to take care of you since you clearly went through a lot, but with that attitude of yours? Yeah, no. You’ll have to serve your own water now ¨princess¨” Mydei could almost feel a vain pop, he will not take this slander any longer.
“You—” Mydei tried to sit up to confront the man and promptly was met with excruciating pain that made him stay still in bed once more as he groaned in pain.
He felt shame, showing so much vulnerability in front of a stranger, a peasant no less.
The man’s eyes widen from concern for a second, before closing them and let out a heavy breath “See? You can’t even stand— here” The man served him a glass of water and handed it to him, Mydei let out a grunt and drank it all in one go.
“I will come by later with food, please stay here and rest” The man closed the bedroom door, leaving Mydei alone in the little room.
Only for the man to open the door a mere second later “The bathroom is two rooms to the right from this one by the way” Then he closed it again, Mydei heard as the footsteps started to grow fainter.
Mydei made himself comfortable in bed and then…stared at the ceiling and did nothing but think.
He didn’t understand the man, he was rude to Mydei yet kind at the same time. He also looked so strikingly beautiful that Mydei was starting to doubt he was actually a peasant, he had to be playing some kind of prank.
No peasant could be that beautiful. He’s most likely a royal knight or the son of a noble family, (but if that was the case and he knows he’s a prince why be so hostile towards him…?) yet the environment he was stuck in begged to differ.
The bed was uneven in some spots, clearly it was badly stuffed with wool instead of being properly filled with feathers and the pillows were too stiff and made of some cheap material. The decoration around the room was pitiable at best and lacked aesthetics, he was clearly in a poor man’s house.
Just what did he got himself into— he can’t move at the moment, his body quite literally turned into jelly back there and he really needs the rest, at least for a day.
So, he has to rest here in this— pigsty!
Deep breaths, in and out, in and out.
Just for one day Mydei, just one day, then he would set out to meet with his army.
He’s confident that they can manage on their own, but Mydei not being there will raise some flags for some of them, they are probably frantically looking for him at the moment.
Mm, maybe that wasn’t bad. They’ll surely show up anytime soon in front of this commoner house if that’s the case.
Oh, he would give millions to see the man’s face when Mydei’s army comes knocking at his door.
What an amusing thought, he’ll be looking forward to it.
He has no doubt his detachment has already dispatched those petty thieves that dared to steal from them, no issues there.
As of now— where did that man say he was at the moment again? Elysia something— Mydei has no clue where that is, but he will find his way home.
After thinking about his current situation and his people, Mydei’s thoughts eventually went back to the man and the village he could barely discern through the window (so yellow…)
It seemed like he materialized the man with his mind for he knocked at the door not long after his initial thought.
“Come in” Mydei commanded. The door opened a bit slow, but eventually it fully opened. The man came with a wooden serving tray.
Mydei positioned himself again in a sitting posture “Hello! Here’s your serving” The man placed the cheap tray on his thighs as he smiled— it was soup and bread. Mydei grimaced for a moment, was he really going to eat food made by some commoner?
His stomach growled in protest. He hasn’t eaten anything in forever…
Just this once, he thought as he blew the soup a little to cool it down before practically drank it all in one go.
Strangely the man still stood there quietly with crossed arms and a newly formed frown on his face. What was he waiting for? For Mydei to finish eating so he could take the tray back?
Doesn’t matter— the soup, in spite of being made by a peasant it was strangely delicious.
“Ehem” The man cleared his throat to catch his attention, Mydei stopped eating for a second to answer “What?” then continued drinking the soup.
“You are supposed to say ¨thank you¨” Mydei raised an eyebrow, no clue what he means “You are dismissed, you may go” he said instead as he grabbed a piece of bread and tear it into two.
The peasant gasped in disbelief “You— are truly insufferable, ungrateful! I’m done with you” he then left the room slamming the door that made a terrible awful sound.
Yikes, what’s his problem?
Mydei tried the bread alone first, he gave it a tempted bite and…
His eyes widened for a moment as he chewed, it was by far the best bread he’s ever tasted in his life.
How…? How could such a simple, plain thing be so delicious?
The outside had the ideal crisp, and the inside had the perfect amount of softness to it that it practically melted in his mouth.
He could hardly believe it, did that man actually made this? No, it had to be something else.
Being the prince of one of the biggest kingdoms in Amphoreus, he has tasted innumerable amounts of food, including multiple varieties of bread of the best kind, yet he has never tasted something quite like this.
Mydei dipped a bit of the bread on the little amount of soup that remained and was pleasantly surprised when he somehow made it taste better.
He regrets drinking most of the soup already without thinking, this was a heavenly match, it really made him forget it was made by such a low-class person.
Mydei finished his bread in record time, now with no more bread or soup, he was left dissatisfied with the amount provided for him.
He wanted to ask for seconds but he did not know the name of the man, getting up was out of question and he would not rather yell around for him to come.
Bothered, he drank a bit more water before getting comfortable in bed once more.
Mydei let the tray of food in the nightstand beside him, that peasant will surely come fetch it later for him.
He suddenly got struck with sleepiness. It was probably around the time for his nap then, it would also do good for his body to heal faster.
Mydei closed his eyes and wasn’t surprised when he quickly fell asleep.
Phainon had left the room quite annoyed, furious even.
Who does that man think he is? Treating him like dirt under his soles…
Phainon was grumbling under his breath complaining to nobody when Cyrene approached him “Is everything okay? I heard you slamming the door just now…”
Phainon couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the memory of what happened a mere moment ago “I’m done with that man Cyrene— you take care of him from now on I don’t want to go anywhere near him”
Cyrene tilted her head in confusion, one finger touching her chin “What? What exactly happened?”
What didn’t happen would be a better question.
“He’s just-! So— spoiled!” Phainon said as he grumbled and started gesturing “He doesn’t say thank you, or even hi- and he treats me like I’m his servant! He got mad at me when I told him he could serve his own water— which he clearly can— and then he told me I was “dismissed” like I’m his personal attendant or something! He’s obviously been coddle his entire life and expects me to treat him like a king. I really tried but I’m not indulging that, I’m done”
Oof, it felt nice getting that out of his chest, a shame Cyrene was the victim of his venting.
Thankfully she just laughed it off instead of feeling bad “Well it seems like you rescued quite the character! Maybe you two started with the wrong foot, we could try to start over. Mm, let’s see, could you tell me what’s his name first?”
Phainon was at a blank, he’s ashamed to admit he really didn’t ask him...or anything for that matter.
“I— uh… I don’t know” He rubbed the back of his head with his hand ashamed— it was such a simple thing.
“Well, did you tell him your name?”
Silence.
“No…” Ugh, fine she got him there, they haven’t even introduced each other. Exchanging names was the foundation of every relationship, maybe they did start with the wrong foot.
“See? You two aren’t even acquainted yet! Let’s go see him later and get things cleared out, okay?” Cyrene winked at him as she smiled. This is why he needed his sister in his life, she balanced him out when he got too stupid.
“Thank you, I might have overreacted…” He still thinks the man is an asshole, but he guesses they can try to star over, if that man is even willing…
He sighs, Phainon really doesn’t want to confront him again, but what else can he do in a situation like this?
“Lord Krateros, the scout team is back, we located the rest of the Dolos’ thieves that were hiding nearby but there’s not a single sign about his Highness whereabouts” Neaera, the Lider of the reconnaissance team, came back from surveying the area albeit without good news.
Two hours had passed since the initial assault, the rain had stopped already, they took care of the thieves who— in their eagerness to strike gold amidst a storm— where actually defeated by one of the most feared armies of Amphoreus.
Their own side didn’t suffer any losses except for one.
Mydeimos was nowhere to be seen after the battle, there were multiple accounts of men saying “He was fighting nearby when he suddenly disappeared”
The battlefield was chaotic in nature— he does not expect a soldier to be able to give any kind of reliable intel, but he was left with little option at the moment.
Krateros wasn’t worried about the prince dying— that was impossible after all.
No, his concern grew more on the side of abduction.
They had to realize who they were up against after the initial attack— with their deceiving tricks they must’ve gotten Mydeimos in their grasp.
It wasn’t past those thieves to formulate a plan to kidnap the young prince and ask for ransom money, they truly had no shame.
Krateros looked down at the unconscious tied up thief they caught— the only one they didn’t kill and the only one who didn’t manage to get away.
Krateros waited patiently for them to wake up “Thank you for the report, you may leave now” Neaera bowed her head and left, leaving Krateros alone once more.
It was only a matter of time, he would get his answers out of this person, no matter what.
Those who plot against peoples back held no honor, and to play with the crown itself…This group of people were nothing but lowlifes enticed by money, Krateros will make sure they understand.
Krateros doesn’t know what he’ll do if he has to return home to his king and queen and inform them about their missing son.
He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to show his face if that would be the case.
For now, he will have to wait, just a bit longer…